The Chicago Tribune once called the magazine's awards the "Oscars of Invention."

Van Leeuwen  is being recognized for his work to use microscopic fungi to improve the production of biofuels and for other innovations to protect the environment and improve water quality.

Previous winners include Larry Page, co-founder of Google; Elon Musk, a leader of PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla Motors and SolarCity; Burt Rutan, developer of SpaceShipOne; and Dean Kaman, the inventor of the Segway Personal Transporter and founder of the FIRST organization that works to inspire children to study science and technology.